Even a king could be anxious, according to their deer-dad. Cadenza could not even imagine the difficulty of worrying about everything. They considered, thoughtful, their own worries. “I think… I worry most about what I cannot control,” They admitted. “The worries come and go, but if I am ever near here while I am worried, I will talk to you,” Their musical voice decided, their tone a promise.

Cadenza engraved the name of each of their siblings into their mind. They had so many siblings! They were not entirely surprised by the difference in their parents’ recitations. It seemed that their deer-dad always had a lot on his mind, all of his experiences, so recalling parts would be more difficult. Their dragon-dad, meanwhile, tended to have less on his mind, it seemed. There was nothing wrong with either approach, of course. They both clearly cared, after all.

While Cadenza was fairly certain they were between the two with regards to matters on their mind, they thought if they ever had children, they would never be far from their mind, no matter how much Cadenza experienced in life.

Family shone greater than any shiny objects could in their mind. It was their home, their hoard, and their happiness.

And the happiness of their family mattered very much to Cadenza, as well. ”I am sorry it never hatched,” They sincerely told their dad regarding the last mentioned sibling. Their voice was sad as well, for their dad and for the loss of a potential sibling that they had never known.

They had thirteen siblings, they decided, even if one had not hatched and gotten a name. It was clear that their dad still cared for that unhatched sibling, so it counted too.

Cadenza fell quiet, unsure of what else to say. They had planned to go to the tower with their deer-dad now, but they did not want to abandon their dragon-dad when he was sad.

So they quietly existed, not sure what else it was they could say that might help.

@Dread

Dread seemed to, if not get over it quickly, at least to lose focus on the topic. He shrugged it away, mostly, with a gesture of enormous wings. "IT IS STILL ALIVE," was his response, apparently a consolation for him.

As in--maybe, one day, it still would hatch.

He turned, settling down as if to wait, though his gaze turned outward and idly scanned Orion--as though he were keeping watch.

Pride listened, his head coming up and his ears sweeping forward. He was going to ask if Dread wanted him to check the stone for life--but it seemed the dragon had already. "Some children are... slow, in hatching from their stones," he offered, in soft and noncommittal reassurance.

He could not, after all, guarantee that it would one day hatch.

That aside, he waited quietly, chewing a mouthful of leaves; and when it seemed the moment had passed, he looked again to Cadenza.

"If you'd like to rest, you might rest now? Or we can see that tower, if you prefer." He hadn't realized that perhaps they didn't intend to go just now, but then again, he couldn't read minds.*

* actually he could! but he wasn't, just then.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

Reassured that their dragon-dad was as consoled as he could be with such a situation, Cadenza turned their attention back to their deer-dad and his question. They were rather tired, but eating and drinking even a little had given them some additional energy.

And they were determined to stay awake and continue to talk to their deer-dad. "We could go to the tower!" Cadenza eagerly chimed in answer. They glanced around, searching with their gaze to see if they could visually see the tower from where they currently were in the garden.

@Dread

Dread pushed up, glancing between the two.

He seemed to debate something for a moment before coming to a conclusion; and then he opened his jaws to speak. "DO YOU WANT ME TO STAY HERE OR SHOULD I COME WITH YOU?" he asked. He didn't seem to mind, either way.

He was, however, intelligent enough to know that Cadenza might want time alone with one parent or another, to get to know one better. But, at the same time, he was reluctant just yet to leave them without his protection, especially so far from home.

Pride, though--which was what he'd been debating--should (he hoped) be a good enough guardian to trust with them. So he was fine, really, either following from a distance, or waiting here--or joining them altogether.

Pride nodded, stepping forward. He glanced to Dread, rolling his own shoulders--and, mentally, urged Mischief to get down. She hopped from his back, scrambling into the garden, moving to graze and browse amongst the foliage. I'll be back, he told her, along their link.

Pride gave Cadenza a moment to answer Dread either way. Then he nodded again, this time up toward the distant tower--hardly more than a silhouette, from here, but certainly visible--and reached out with his magic. "Ready?" he asked, his tone kind.

A moment later, Pride was surrounded by a swathe of golden light, sweeping up around him in ethereal brightness. It clung to him, spreading, and seemed to take over his very armor: tinting it with golden hue, adding a strange helm between his antlers, and golden legplates to his legs. Feathered golden wings swept from his back, translucent and trailing light. "This way," he said, and bounded forward before leaping into the air--the magic wings snapping out and catching his weight, carrying him in a swift, glowing soar toward the watchtower far beyond.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

Cadenza wanted to cling to their dragon-dad, but they also wanted to spend some time simply getting to know their deer-dad. It was a tough decision. For a long moment, they paused, conflicted.

But then a thought occurred to them. If they were tired, their dragon-dad might be too. "You can rest! I will be back!" They told their dragon-dad.

Then, to their deer-dad, Cadenza gave a nod of their antlered head. The were awed by the sudden appearance of wings. Magic was so versatile!

For their own flight, Cadenza moved into walk then a run, before their wings snapped open and they soared, following their glowing deer-dad up towards the distant tower.

@Dread

Dread curled up around his shiny, his watchful eye trained on the two as they took off. Some part of him felt briefly bad for being left, but he really didn't care in the end.

And he brightened up, too, when he realized he could still see the tower from here.

His kid wouldn't yet be leaving his sight at all.

Pride flew up to the tower, though "flew" in this case was perhaps a strange term. He looked as though his stag body had paused mid-bound: legs slightly tucked up, but otherwise motionless. The ethereal wings, however, beat gently at a pace that seemed really too slow to propel him as it did.

He came to the tower, having gone as the crow flies straight for the top. It looked like, perhaps, some form of old watchtower: it looked out over much of Orion (high enough to overlook a couple tunnel entrances, the forum and the ancient ruins), large arches leading into a room at its top.

The stag flew through an archway--then quickly squeezed to one side, making himself as small as possible. The room wasn't really all that large, though it should, he reasoned, be just big enough for Cadenza and himself. They were not, after all, all that large.

Then he waited, his ethereal wings and golden armor fading into nothing. He did not speak--not yet; instead he turned, a faint smile on his face, watching Cadenza to see their reaction.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

As they got closer to the tower and Cadenza could see it better, their eyes were wide with awe. It was a building, their mind told them. An odd word. But that meant it had been built, perhaps? But where were the beings that had built it?

They carefully flew into the opening of the tower, closing their spread wings quickly in order to not take up more space than they needed to. Then they looked outside of the tower, and the view was glorious! They leaned forward a little, simply to stare for a long moment.

After their prolonged session of staring out at the world, Cadenza turned to their deer-dad. ”The view is wonderful! Where did this place come from?” They exclaimed in their musical voice, followed by an inquiring question.

This place did not feel like other places in the caves that they had traveled through with their dragon-dad to get here. ”It seems more… Purposeful? Than what I saw in other caves on the way to here,” Cadenza added.

@Pride
feel free to do Dread post if you want, I just tagged Pride here because Pride is the one most physically present here

a few days later: shoot my tag didn’t work did it